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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Unbelievable Atheist Delusions

Although I had to admit defeat when it came to David Bentley Hart's The Beauty of the Infinite (see here), I thought I might have a stab at the author's Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies, Yale, 2009. I've only dipped into the intro so far as I'm saving the rest for summer holiday reading.

So, I was interested to hear DBH debating with Terry Sanderson of the National Secular Society on Premier Christian Radio's Unbelievable programme, here. The image on the right shows DBH receiving the Michael Ramsey prize for theological writing from the hands of Rowan Williams for Atheist Delusions. The key argument of the book is that many of the key values of Western culture are not the product of rationalistic humanist thought, but are parasitic on the "Christian Revolution". The trouble is that we have largely forgotten the extent to which the Christian faith changed the moral outlook of the ancient world. Notions such as the unique dignity of every human being are testimony to the continuing impact of Christian thought in our so-called post-Christian world. However, with the weakening of Christian influence, the unique vale of human life is being undermined. Some humanistic thinkers advocate eugenics and tragically, abortion is now an accepted part of Western society. Anyway, have a listen to the programme for yourself.

7 comments:

Heard that interview just after it was release on iTunes. What is the deal with DBH's faux British accent? He claims to be from Maryland. I grew up across the state line in PA and I have never met anyone from Maryland with that type of dialect.

Welsh

According to a distinguished fellow countryman, "The Englishman looks upon the Welshman as a rebel, an awkward individualist, as a man who always wants his own way and is perpetually creating totally uncalled for difficulties" (D.M.Lloyd-Jones).